Austin, Texas -- Unbeknownst to most Texans, Gov. Rick Perry officially retired in January so he could draw early pension benefits worth $7,699 a month, in addition to his annual governor's salary of $150,000.

Perry's January retirement - on paper, at least - was revealed Friday when the Federal Elections Commission released the financial disclosure statement the governor was required to file as a candidate for the Republican nomination for president. The annuity brings Perry's total state government-related income to $242,388 a year.

Reaction to news of the unusual arrangement in which Perry retired as a state employee but remains Texas' elected governor was swift and negative.

"If there's a Hall of Fame for hypocrites, he's in it," said Democratic consultant Paul Begala. "It must be part of Perry's plan to starve the government by taking as much money from it as he can."

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Gross said he had never heard of a Texas official doing what Perry has done.

"Regular employees who retire and return to work get their pension frozen and don't accrue additional years of service - and those people are strongly criticized as being double-dippers and trying to exploit a unique situation," he said.

Brushing off criticism

Perry, 61, and his staff brushed off the criticism, with the governor telling ABC News, "I think it'd be rather foolish to not access what you've earned."

Campaign spokesman Ray Sullivan said the governor decided to take his state employee retirement annuity "as part of his standard financial planning." He began drawing the annuity on Jan. 31, and the package, Sullivan said, is consistent with Texas state law and Employee Retirement System rules. Perry continues to pay into the Employees Retirement System with a 6.5% withholding from his state salary.

The combination of Perry's U.S. military service, state service and age exceeded the state-required 80 years and qualified him for the annuity, Sullivan explained.

Perry has been on Texas' public payroll since 1985, including stints as a state representative, agriculture commissioner and lieutenant governor before ascending to the governor's office in 2001.

Steven E. Schier, a political scientist at Carleton College, said the revelation "will damage Perry's appeal among conservatives and Republicans."

"Just like Newt's big consulting fees with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, it's an example of a politician taking a payoff from the public sector while mercilessly criticizing government," Schier said. "Double-dipping on its face is hard to explain, particularly to a GOP electorate skeptical of government. Perry will have to explain this, and when you are explaining in politics, you are losing because you are in a defensive crouch."

Hypocrisy alleged

Perry's decision to boost his income while forcing billions in spending cuts across Texas and railing against government benefits and congressional perks in Washington, D.C., provoked accusations of hypocrisy.

"Rick Perry is using tax money to pad his pockets, while he is taking money from the classrooms, money that is needed to educate our children. I think most schoolteachers are going to wonder about a governor who is using government to improve his income while asking everyone else to make sacrifices," said Clay Robison, spokesman for the Texas State Teachers Association.

'No pay raise'

"Somehow, this Republican budget doesn't have room to pay teachers, but they can give Rick Perry a $100k pay raise," Texas Democratic Party spokesman Anthony Gutierrez said. "If Perry wants retirement benefits, he should do us all a favor and actually retire. Giving himself a raise while thousands of teachers are losing their jobs is unconscionable."

Sullivan disagreed.

"There was no pay raise," he said. "Governor Perry accrued time in the state retirement system through his military and state service. This is an annuity system he paid into for many years, and he continues to pay into the state retirement system, as do all state employees."

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